Lilongwe-based musician Henry Czar released a song titled ‘Mzungu’ with a Malawian setting a day ago.
The song, which talks against mental slavery and what he considers neocolonialism perpetrated by white people, can be branded as controversial.
In the song, the artist narrates how Malawian society was brainwashed, making it easy for white supremacists to control.
Born Henry Kanjanga, the artist alleges that multiparty democracy was introduced in the country not in good faith but to create chaos among citizens.
He further says that black people hold anything brought by white people in high regard, demeaning their own kind.
He sings, ‘Kumaona ngati kuda ndi kuola// aliyense kumasilira kuyela// Kuyela kuja anakuchekenera// Africa yonse kudana ndi kuda//’
While some have commended Czar for his creative approach to promoting Pan Africanism through music, with reggae songstress Merrium Pondani (aka Queen Fyah) describing the song as ‘music with substance,’
And one of Malawian poets- Symon Maguru expressing excitement saying as per Hip-hip culture, Czar has used the genre to speak against injustices.
“Hip-hop has always spoken against injustice. Henry Czar keep it up and thank you for bringing back authenticity of the genre in a Pan African perspective,” commented Maguru,
Others have not received it positively.
An upcoming musician, Stargic, has claimed that Czar recreated his original song titled ‘Ill Mind,’ released in 2020.
Stargic claims that ‘Mzungu’ has striking similarities with his ‘Ill Mind’ song, which also talks about mental slavery and neocolonialism.
“The similarities are too pronounced to ignore, and I’m concerned that Henry may have unintentionally borrowed ideas from my work without proper credit,” Stargic complained on his Facebook page.
Responding to MIJ Online, Czar’s management acknowledged the uniqueness of the concept but was quick to indicate that anyone can make a song about it.
“These kinds of concepts are universal; you can’t expect to be the only one who thought of doing a song about white people brainwashing Africans.”
The management added that Czar worked on ‘Mzungu’ from scratch.
“We are pretty sure the songs are different since the beats, melodies, and lyrics were made from scratch by Henry Czar”.
However, Stargic has warned Czar that continuing to steal others’ ideas could harm his reputation and lead to legal action.
Our quick internet search revealed that over a thousand songs have been made about mental slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism by various artists worldwide.